For instance, the 20-year-old marvels at heavy snow in Illinois and enjoys family gatherings at Thanksgiving.
And she especially gets a kick out of how Americans celebrate the birthdays of their pets.
“I have dogs back in Ireland,” a smiling Murphy says in the brogue of her homeland. “But I don’t know their birthdays.”
Such random tidbits are part of the bonus education she has gleaned in Peoria, where 3,759 miles from home she attends Bradley University. It’s a team effort, as she has the assistance of two scholarships one from the school, the other the first from Peoria’s Sister City Commission plus donations from the Peoria-based Friends of Clonmel.